Precious Gift Part 8 (Eren x Levi)
by julieofthewatertribe
Summary: Alright guys, still a little nsfw as usual but no smut here, this chapter is all plot. Howeveeeer, the yumminess happens in part 9.


"This is a _fine_ table, Eren." Levi had come back downstairs, now in his formal uniform, and stroked the boy's hair as Eren hugged his hip, warmed and flustered to receive such praise. The boy's nose crinkled happily as the captain's eyes swept over the settings that Eren had arranged meticulously on the marble table top, his expression calm and seemingly satisfied. "I'm very proud of you, precious, you did an excellent job," Levi murmured, brushing Eren's hair behind his ears as the boy giggled, enjoying the tickle of the captain's fingers. Levi bent forward to touch his lips to Eren's forehead, only to pause and stand up straight when the clang of the doorbell rang through the mansion.

Eren turned his head abruptly and leapt forward, bounding along to the door on his hands and knees as Levi followed, shaking his head in half-amusement, "Go ahead, you can open it, Eren." The boy knelt up and heaved the door open, only to turn around and take shelter behind Levi's boots once the captain had caught up with him. Eren remembered Erwin all too clearly, along with his intense dislike for the man. But what was this? A boy stepped out from behind the commander, collared and leashed like Eren, but he was clothed. And _standing upright_. Eren tugged on the fabric of Levi's pants and gazed up at him, trying to comprehend why the blond child wasn't naked and on all fours like he was. But before Levi could utter a word, Erwin strode forward and sank down onto his heels in front of Eren. "I missed you, pretty," the commander cooed, his eyes crinkling in a smile as he scratched behind the boy's ears, cheerful and seemingly unoffended when Eren shook his head and shrank away from Erwin's touch. "But what's all this?" Eren blushed madly and lowered his eyes angrily, whining quietly when the commander's fingers ran along Levi's dried essence, spread thickly over the boy's cheek.

"Eren made a mess this morning," the captain said curtly, "so I had to teach him that messes are unacceptable in this house." Erwin nodded knowingly and tugged the cord in his hand gently, prompting the strange boy forward and onto his knees, facing Eren squarely. "This is Armin. Tell Eren hello, Armin." The child's blue eyes were wide but his body was reserved as he leaned forward and kissed the clean part of Eren's cheek. "Hello." Eren swallowed thickly and bored his eyes resolutely into the pools of blue before him, "Hello. I'm Eren."

Levi dug his fingers gently into Eren's hair, causing the boy to tear his eyes away from Armin for a moment to regard his captain. "Why don't you and Armin go play? Erwin and I have some things to discuss." Eren blinked and nodded silently up at Levi, a comforting warmth spreading across his cheeks as the captain bent low to kiss the boy's forehead. "I want you staying inside though. It's cold outside today." Levi nodded at the commander, and moved towards the hallway leading to the dining room. "Shall we?" Erwin bent down to unhook Armin's leash and ruffle his hair. "Go. Have fun with Eren. Just make sure you stay quiet and don't make any messes for Captain Levi," the commander smiled softly. Armin's face, however, remained reserved, there was no smile to mirror Erwin's. "Yes, sir." The commander ruffled the boy's hair and stood up to follow Levi. "Be good."

Eren studied the pale face in front of him. Armin's eyes, partially hidden by shaggy blond hair were wide and working, drinking in Eren's form, seeming to come to some sort of conclusion. Eren blinked. "Come on, we can go to this room." Eren crawled forward down the hallway opposite to that of the dining room, taking Armin to the room Levi had used to prepare Eren for the squad. The boy could feel Armin's eyes on his back as he padded along on all fours, but he attempted to push the invasive feeling out of his mind when he opened the door to the room and sat cross legged at the foot of the bed, Armin doing the same, facing him head-on.

"I don't have any toys, so we'll just have to make up a game to play. Is that okay?" Eren said before jumping slightly and snapping his eyes up from the carpet when Armin leaned forward and poked his knee gently. "Why do you crawl around? Why don't you just walk?" the boy tilted his head to the side. His voice was soft, but firm enough to demand an answer. Eren's nostrils flared in annoyance. It wasn't like he wouldn't walk if he could. "Because Captain Levi will punish me if I don't crawl," Eren paused, "but more important than that, I want to make him happy. Because I love Captain Levi, and he loves me," the boy finished, almost with an air of indignation at Armin for asking such a question. "Hmmm," Armin twirled a strand of hair around his finger, his eyes shifting knowingly to the ground, "and is that why he keeps you naked too?"

"I—he—that's just how the captain wants me! I don't know, you ask so many questions!" Eren stammered, a deep blush spreading along his cheeks as he hastily reached over and tugged the bed cover onto his frame, suddenly aware of how exposed his body was. Armin's expression softened somewhat, his eyes becoming less probing. "I'm sorry, I'm just curious is all. Levi seems so different from Commander. He's never made me crawl or go about naked before," the boy mumbled thoughtfully and blinked slowly as his eyes moved from one white patch on Eren's cheek to the next, "and he's never done _that_ to my face."

Eren's mouth opened and closed in anger and embarrassment as he hugged the duvet tighter to his body defensively. He had half a mind to go to the washroom and wipe his face clean right now, but only God knew of Levi's wrath if the captain came to no longer see the proof of his pleasure painted across Eren's cheeks. However, the boy finally found his words amid his frustration. "He only did that because I dirtied his sheets! Captain Levi doesn't like messes so he had to punish me," Eren hissed as he brought his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms before lowering his eyes seemingly in defeat as a thought dawned on him. "I really seem to upset the captain more than I please him. I wouldn't be surprised if he just threw me away one of these days. Then he wouldn't have to put up with me anymore."

Armin smiled and leaned forward, gently pinching the exposed fleshy part of Eren's shin, bringing him out of his musings and back into reality. The boy reluctantly focused his eyes on Armin's as he swept his golden locks away from his face. "Don't worry, Eren. It may not seem so, but I think Captain Levi is nicer to you than Erwin is to me." Eren pouted at the boy and wrapped his arms tightly around his knees under the blanket, genuinely distraught. It was only a matter of time until Levi would get fed up with him and his nonsense. "How do you know?" Eren probed, his eyes wide, searching for some comfort or reassurance that the captain wouldn't abandon him. Armin lowered his gaze and toyed with a string on the carpet. "Because unlike Captain Levi, Erwin hurts me every night, whether I deserve it or not. Levi only punishes you when you do something wrong. But Commander does it because he likes to see me cry. He said it himself."

"What do you mean? Does he spank you?" Eren's voice was prying and he unconsciously leaned closer to the boy in front of him, thoroughly captivated. Armin's teeth sank into his bottom lip as his eyes shifted along the pattern of the carpet. "Well, no…no, he doesn't do that," the boy suddenly met Eren's gaze and lunged forward to place his lips an inch from Eren's ear. "He—he puts his privates in my dirty place!"

Levi set down his brandy gently on the table and sighed, the deep amber liquid sparkling against the many facets of the crystal glass. "What is it, Levi? What's troubling you so?" Erwin murmured, reaching for the bottle by the captain's arm and pouring himself a lick as he watched Levi's fingers trace around the rim of his glass over and over again in agitation. "I shouldn't have taken Eren outside the other day. They were catcalling at him. They were lusting over him," Levi hissed at no one in particular, his eyes slitting as fury began to bubble up within him. Erwin shot a careful glance in the captain's direction, pursing his lips deliberately. "Your old friends?"

Levi simply grunted and took a hearty sip of his brandy. The commander nodded slowly and closed his eyes for a moment, his suspicions confirmed. "Well," Erwin intertwined his fingers and twiddled his thumbs, "I really doubt you have anything to worry about, Levi." The captain swirled the brandy around in the glass, staring down at the drink, his expression sour and unyielding despite the commander's words of reassurance. "Now, Levi," Erwin said slightly more sternly as he leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other, "do you really think those degenerates would be so bold as to threaten or harm Eren in any way knowing that he belongs to you?" Levi brought his storming eyes up and focused them on the commander before shifting them away slowly, clenching and relaxing his fingers.

"They don't give a shit, Erwin. I was the same before I joined you. My _old friends_ never consider risks or repercussions once they have a goal in mind. If they want something, they'll take it."

Eren fell back against the bed, wide eyed and shaking his head. "What—what do you mean? How does that even work?" he squeaked, terrified and confused and unwilling to believe the words coming from the boy's mouth. Armin balled his fists and knelt forward, "Eren, it hurts so badly every time! He stretches me with his fingers and-."

"Oi, Eren! Bring Armin and get down here! Dinner is ready!" Eren started when Levi's voice boomed suddenly down the hallway. The boy sighed and ran his hand through his hair, slumping against the bed frame. "Come on, we have to go. But maybe after dinner, we can…talk some more," Eren spoke softly, his mind working a mile a minute. He got up onto his knees and turned around to fix the bed cover and smooth it back over the mattress as he tried to make some sense of what Armin had just told him. How could someone put their _thing_ inside another person's bottom? That wasn't even possible! And stretching? One could stretch their arms, legs, but what else other than that?

Eren silently led the way down the hallway, almost in a trance as he watched his hands move underneath him as he crawled forward until he stopped to kneel tentatively in the dining room door way. "We're here, captain." Levi turned slightly in his chair to regard Eren, careful to wipe the worry off of his face as the boy padded toward him and shyly climbed up onto his lap. The captain stroked Eren's hair absentmindedly before dipping a napkin into what was left of his brandy and bringing it up to the boy's face. "Look at me, Eren," Levi murmured, taking Eren's chin in his hand to wipe off the white patches from the boy's cheeks, nose, and jaw, "I think you've learned your lesson for today. You won't make any more messes for me from now on?" the captain murmured as he finished cleaning off the rest of Eren's face. "No sir, I promise," the boy nuzzled into Levi's neck sweetly, missing the comfort and familiarity of his chest. No, the captain would never do something like what Erwin had done to Armin, Eren reasoned, Levi's cologne mixing in his nose with the smell of the roast sitting in the middle of the table. "Good boy, I have faith that you won't do it again, because I know you wouldn't want to upset me, now would you?" the captain purred in Eren's ear, his eyes narrow and sharp.

"No, no, never, sir! I don't want you to ever be angry with me," Eren pleaded, hugging Levi tighter. As far as he was concerned, they were the only two people in the room. Eren didn't couldn't be bothered with anyone, not Armin and especially not Erwin. "I want to stay here with you forever, I don't ever want you to get tired of me and throw me away!" Levi wrapped his arm around Eren's hip and slapped the boy's thighs gently with his free hand, making them blush a faint pink.

"Silly little thing," Levi breathed, "I'll never abandon you." The captain blew into Eren's ear and held him tightly as the boy squirmed and giggled on his lap. But Eren was torn from the high of basking in the captain's affections when Erwin's deep voice sounded next to him. "My, my Levi. I must admit I am sick with envy over you two. What a delight it would be if Armin showed me half of the fondness your sweet little Eren shows for you, Levi. You really are a lucky man to have such a loving and devoted pet," the man supposed, reaching down to pat the top of Armin's head, the boy kneeling stiffly by Erwin's chair leg and grimacing slightly at the commander's touch. Eren turned his face away from his captain slowly to make eyes at Erwin, bristling at the condescension in the commander's tone.

"Well, Erwin," Levi murmured, caressing Eren's shoulder as the boy brought his face back into the captain's collarbone, his voice low and venomous, "I think tonight after dinner is the perfect time for me to demonstrate to you just how _devoted_ Eren is." The captain then without warning popped his thigh up and down, bouncing the boy on his knee, eliciting another excited laugh from Eren as he clung to Levi's neck to steady himself. "Isn't that right, Eren? Are you going to show Commander Erwin what a good boy you are?" Levi prompted, tilting his face up to bore his eyes sharply into Eren's.

The boy buried his face in the captain's jaw, planting one chaste kiss against the skin before shifting on Levi's lap to stare boldly at the commander, not attempting to mask his contempt for the man. "Don't worry sir, I will do whatever you ask of me because I know you _love_ me," Eren replied, his eyes focused resolutely on the commander as he nuzzled against Levi, a satisfied grin breaking across his lips as the captain gave his thigh an approving squeeze. Erwin's eyes flashed and his jaw tensed, though he managed to plaster a convincing smile onto his face as he turned his gaze away from Eren and onto Levi momentarily before looking down at Armin.

"What do you say, Armin, sweetheart?" the commander stroked the boy's chin, his voice sickeningly sweet, "do you think we can learn a thing or two from Eren, hmmm?"

Armin's teeth clenched behind his lips as he and Eren made eye contact. "Yes, sir," the boy whispered slowly, his eyes widening, "I'd love to see what Eren can do."


End file.
